WHETHER THEY know it or not, both Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey have bet big on lithium, a critical element for making batteries for electric vehicles and other “green” technologies. Their administrations, to varying degrees, have supported electrifying everything. Massachusetts is now following California as one of several states to mandate […]
Plugging In
Posted inOpinion
Getting to yes on climate change response
CLIMATE CHANGE is real. So too is a massive transformation underway of electric power generation markets and transmission networks. That transformation is largely driven by public policies focused on electrification of vehicles, buildings, and industrial processes. This electrification, to achieve climate goals, will depend increasingly on electricity from wind and solar resources. Implementing these policies […]
Posted inEnergy
Mass.-financed power line from Quebec clears another NextEra hurdle
THE COMPANY seeking to build a Massachusetts-financed transmission line carrying hydro-electricity from Quebec to Maine cleared another hurdle on its comeback trail when federal regulators dismissed objections raised by the nuclear power plant Seabrook Station. In a 52-page ruling, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled on Wednesday that Seabrook must upgrade a circuit breaker at […]
Posted inEnergy
Citizens Energy pushing community solar
CITIZENS ENERGY HAS changed with the times. Once known for giving heating oil away, the nonprofit company founded by Joe Kennedy II – and now managed by his son, Joe III – has turned to leveraging solar power to drive down electricity bills for low-income consumers. A project the company developed on a former Superfund […]
Posted inEnergy
Mass. offshore wind developers stalling for time
THE STATE’S TWO leading offshore wind developers appear to be stalling for time as they explore whether the cast of new players on Beacon Hill may be more receptive to letting them back out of or tweak their existing power purchase agreements. Avangrid, the company behind Commonwealth Wind, filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging a […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Region’s aging nuclear power plants drawing interest
NUCLEAR POWER APPEARS to be making a bit of a comeback. For decades, the trendlines have not been good, as aging reactors have found it difficult to compete against power generated by natural gas and overcome resistance from environmental advocates. Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont, shut down at the end of 2014. Pilgrim Nuclear Power […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Despite delays, Hydro-Quebec still ready to honor its Mass. contract
IT’S BEEN 3 ½ YEARS since Massachusetts utilities negotiated a massive power purchase agreement with Hydro-Quebec, and the electricity still isn’t close to flowing because of repeated delays in building a transmission line from the Canadian border down through Maine. Hydro-Quebec officials say they are ready to deliver the power as soon as the transmission […]
Posted inOpinion
3 steps for equitable climate action
JANUARY 2023 marks the beginning of a new year. For Massachusetts, it also marks the beginning of a new administration with the historic inauguration of Gov. Maura Healey, as well as a new legislative session with new (and incumbent) legislators. Both Healey as a candidate, and the Legislature during the last legislative session, have made […]
Posted inEnergy
Lawmakers walk tightrope on wind power contracts
THE LEGISLATURE’S ENERGY experts say it makes sense to penalize CommonWealth Wind and Mayflower Wind if they default on their recently approved power purchase contracts, but the lawmakers don’t want the penalties to include a ban on participation in an upcoming offshore wind procurement. The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Utilities, Telecommunications, and […]
Posted inEnergy
New England electricity markets very messy
OVER THE CHRISTMAS holiday, Gov.-elect Maura Healey’s call for Massachusetts to obtain all of its electricity from fossil-free sources by 2030 looked a lot like a pipe dream. During a four-day stretch, New England power generators burned an estimated 31.5 million gallons of fuel oil to produce electricity. Normally, oil doesn’t even figure in the […]